An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
